Sins of the Father
by Darrak
Summary: Neal won't let Peter take the fall for something he didn't do. One-shot.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own White Collar. It belongs to USA Network and Jeff Eastin.

**Summery: **Neal can't let Peter take the fall for something he didn't do.

**A/N:** When I get the time I'm planning on making a real story out of it (where it'll also be explained how it was possible for Neal to switch places with Peter).

But for now this is just a one-shot.

* * *

_The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other._

Mario Puzo

xXx

_"Let me give you some advice. In this life, somebody always takes the fall. Don't let it be you."_

Those words had been the last that James Bennett had offered his son, before leaving him behind and ultimately letting another man take the fall for a crime, he himself had committed.

It didn't matter if Peter, a man Neal had come to see as more than just a friend and partner, had been the one to pull the trigger or not. The gun that had been used to kill Senator Terrence Pratt had been his and it was Peter everybody had all seen standing over the dead body of the Senator, said gun in hand. James Bennett long gone.

* * *

Neal walked beside the guard in a daze, the events of the last days finally catching up with him. He felt a strange numbness wrapping itself around him, his feet suddenly feeling heavy as if they were encased in concrete. Slowly lifting his gaze from the floor, where it had rested for the entirety of the walk, he almost felt as if he wasn't in his own body anymore, as if he was looking at himself from somewhere else.

He had managed to keep himself out of prison for almost three years now; not counting his short stay after Kate's death. He felt a surge of pain in his heart at the thought of Kate. Several years later and the pain of losing her was still there. The memory of the smile and wave she had offered him, only moments before the plane had exploded with her in it, hunting him.

Had it not been for Peter, Neal would have been onboard that plane too. In his weakest moments he wondered if it wouldn't have been for the best. Chaos followed him around wherever he went. Just look at the mess he had made with Matthew Keller. The man who had somehow found out that he was in possession of a Nazi treasure and had kidnapped Elizabeth, holding her hostage in the expectation of exchanging her for the treasure.

And sadly, that had only been one in a long line of events that would have never happened, had Peter just let him go. How much easier wouldn't it have been for everyone involved, if he had just told Peter goodbye and never looked back. But that hadn't been possible at the time. He had hesitated and even let Peter see a glimpse of the true Neal Caffrey, if only for a moment.

_"You said goodbye to everybody but me. Why?" _

_The shout from Peter brought Neal to a halt. Slowly turning around and looking at the agent he had come to see as a friend, he answered the question in an even tone "I don't know."_

_Peter wasn't having any of that "Yeah you do. Tell me."_

_A flicker of emotion, that didn't last more than a fraction of a second, crossed his face at Peter's disagreement, and had the agent not been staring so intently at the younger man, he would have likely missed it._

_"I don't know," was Neal's answer once more. Mask carefully in place again._

_Peter's exclamation of "Why!?" was almost imminently met with an equally piercing shout from Neal "You know why!"_

_Taking a calming breath, Peter looked at the ex-con for at minute before softly asking "Tell me."_

_"Because you're the only one that could change my mind." _

But now, walking alongside the silent guard, it was as if those years had never existed. He was back in prison, this time for good.

Letting his gaze fall back to the floor again Neal couldn't help but wonder, not for the first time, if he could have done things differently. His mind ran fervently, looking at it from every angle but in the end the outcome was the same. This had been the only way to ensure Peter staying out of prison. With his father's last words echoing in his head Neal finally squared his shoulders, focusing his sharp, blue eyes straight ahead and letting a hint of his usual confidence shine through.

Because ultimately there was only one thing that mattered to Neal right now. The same sentence running around in circles in his mind.

_Better him than Peter. _


End file.
